Activists stress need to support deceased cancer patients' kids

Dr Mallika Tiruvadanan, a specialist in palliative medicine, said that there is a great need for a policy or a support system for the families, especially to educate the children. “There is an absolute need for a support system because of the increasing burden of deaths due to cancer. While some families tend to get Rs 1 lakh from the government for a year, there is no help beyond that.” 

In a recent incident, a man from the city, whose wife died of cancer, sent his young daughter abroad to earn some bucks and got his younger daughter to leave school as he could not afford to educate her.  But, he let his son continue education as ‘it is more important for boy to be  educated’. 

To spread awareness against such practice, a walkathon was held in the city to create awareness and raise funds to support the education of the children of Cancer Conquerors’. Dr Daya Raveendran, a Consultant Dental Surgeon, who works towards this cause said, “We identified four children who dropped out of schools from across the city. We decided to fund them.” 

While the funds raised from the walkathon will serve to benefit the four children, there are many others also in need of similar  support. “If there is a policy in place plus insurance for those patients undergoing cancer treatment and some support for palliative care, families of cancer patients in the state will not have to go through this struggle,” stated Dr Mallika.